Unofficial sperm donor sells BBC ‘baby batter’ delivered with tomato passata

Women who want to become parents are harassed for sex and offered cheap, illegal sperm samples online.

Some who cannot access fertility treatment are seeking options on social media sites, leading to a growing unregulated market, with some even turning to “Tinder for Sperm” websites.

A BBC Wales investigation found a man who advertised “baby dough” online and sent it in a box with a frozen carton of tomato passata paid £100 for a sample delivered the next day.

The UK’s fertility regulator has warned that women are at risk of “exploitation by predatory donors”.

As part of the investigation, I set out to see how easy it could be to find sperm online, and there was no shortage of men offering these services.

An online ad tells me I can “trust” a guy named Joe Donor for mail delivery.

He is a prolific donor who claims to have conceived 180 children worldwide through sex and artificial insemination.

In a rare move, he was publicly named as: Robert Albon by a family court judge Following a case in Cardiff to warn about the dangers of unregulated sperm donation.

We contacted him using an alias and it only took a few emails and a quick phone call to arrange next day delivery. He didn’t ask us to verify who we were or suggest any health checks to look at.

He charged us £100 in cash sent by post for a chilled sperm syringe with a tin of tomato passata acting as an ice block.

A licensed clinic checked the sample four hours after taking it and said all the sperm cells were dead.

Albon questioned how we stored and transported it. She said that enough sperm for fertilization usually survives the birthing process, and that she has had “many successful pregnancies” this way.

Albon and hundreds of other men used Facebook to connect with women seeking sperm; some groups have up to 40,000 members.

I joined a donor group with a blank profile, and although some of my messages appeared genuine, many offered sex or offered fees for samples, asked for intimate images, and messaged insistently to make arrangements.

Some of the men constantly turned to sex and tried to convince me that it was the cheapest and most effective option.

I saw a woman who said she received a donation from a man in North Wales, only to find out later that this man was a convicted sex offender.

The Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority (HFEA) defined irregular donation as donation made outside HFEA licensed premises, adding that it is a criminal offense in the UK.

Tianna and her partner Nikki, from South Wales, turned to irregular giving. They said they were not eligible for NHS funding and felt private treatment was too expensive.

“I always knew I wanted to be a mother, we knew something was missing in our family,” Tianna said.

He added that he was aware of the risks and was wary of any pressure from potential donors.

“There are weird people out there who are in this for all the wrong reasons,” he said.

“There’s a website, kind of like a cross between a catalog and Tinder, where you can filter by eye color, hair color, so you can search for exactly what you’re looking for.”

The couple sought artificial insemination but said men often suggested sex as the best option.

“I think it was really helpful for my wife and I to have each other, so there was no way anyone was going to pressure us into doing something we didn’t want to do, because you’re in a really vulnerable position when all you want is a baby.”

Tianna and Nikki finally found a donor they felt safe with on a co-parenting website and created a contract that ensured all parties were aware of their plans for communication and parental rights.

However, this is not a legal contract.

“There’s still a possibility that he could come in the future and start claiming parental rights and lead us to a lawsuit,” Tianna admitted.

“But I think we did as much as possible to stop it, and I truly believe he would never do that to us.”

They now have a one-year-old son.

“We’ve wanted it for a very long time. Frankly, we took the risk. But it was worth it.”

Unregulated donors offer services in different ways, from those who provide free sex to those who charge expenses to fly around the world for artificial insemination.

Daniel Bayen, 25, lives in the USA but traveled to the UK in the summer of 2025 to donate through artificial insemination; She says this journey resulted in four babies.

The BBC spent three days filming with Dan, who claimed in online videos that he was both the “highest paid donor” and that he worked “not for profit”.

“Buyers need to help me cover not only travel but all my medical and living expenses,” he said.

“There is also communication, there is health, there is sharing on Instagram, there is spreading information, there is education.”

He said he only asked UK clients to cover travel costs, but claimed he was offered up to $20,000 for donations elsewhere.

When challenged by the BBC about taking advantage of people with money to spend, he added: “I don’t really care what other people think. I care about what’s best for the children and the families I work with.”

Dan describes himself as an open donor and is happy for children to know his identity. She also posts videos about her lifestyle and health test results. But he is not open about everything.

“To protect yourself as a donor, you don’t want too many assets under your name, just to make sure no one can destroy your life and your family if they want to,” he said.

“Of course, I don’t think you should lie about your health and SDI screenings. But it’s okay not to give out too much information about where you work, what you do, information that buyers can sue you for. These could be your full name or address, for example.”

Dan claimed he was not breaking the law when donating in the UK.

Licensed clinics in the UK are regulated by the HFEA. page on their website where people can become familiar with the law.

The HFEA said it referred a large number of unregulated donors to the police.

“It is important to know that using an unregulated donor is not a criminal offense and you are not breaking the law, but donors or other people involved in the process of making sperm available may be committing a serious offence,” he said.

according to HFE Act“The handling, storage, supply, testing, processing and distribution of gametes (eggs or sperm)” for use by humans is illegal unless carried out by an HFEA-licensed clinic.

Clare Ettinghausen, HFEA’s director of strategy and corporate affairs, said the sperm delivery we received from Albon was “shocking”.

“The law is pretty clear that you can’t process sperm, you can’t distribute sperm without a license from the HFEA, which is what they’re doing by sending it out.”

In response, Albon said the regulations did not apply to him because he understood it was legal to make and charge private donations.

He also said there was “no direct risk” to any vulnerable women.

Ettinghausen said Meta, the social media company that owns Facebook, “makes it easier for the law to be broken” and raised the issue at the UK Parliament select committee in March.

The HFEA also said it had contacted Meta directly about this issue, but Ettinghausen added that he remained “realistic” that a complete shutdown of such social media groups would take the practice elsewhere.

“Having constant health alerts and options for where to get support and find treatment safely will not completely solve the problem, but it can help.”

He also expressed concerns about personal safety.

“Some of these donors advertise as natural insemination only, which in some cases forces women to have sex when they probably don’t want to.”

Meta, Facebook’s parent company, said it would “review any groups or posts shared with us and remove content that violates our rules.”

“We have a special reporting process for regulators to flag content that does not violate these policies but does violate local laws. We are working closely with relevant authorities on this matter,” he added.

A spokesman for the National Police Chiefs’ Council said: “Unregulated sperm donation carries many risks and can exploit the most vulnerable. “We strongly advise the public to understand the risks and stick to regulated routes.

“If anyone has concerns we would encourage them to report it to the police so we can provide support and investigate.”

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